


A Different Liaison

by Charlotte_Lancer



Series: Piland Fics [4]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Angst, Getting Back Together, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Not Beta Read, Reunions, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2019-11-04 04:53:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17891846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlotte_Lancer/pseuds/Charlotte_Lancer
Summary: What if Leland himself had decided to be the Discovery's Section 31 liaison?Set sometime between 2.05 and 2.06.Can be read as a sequel to the 5+1, or can stand on it's own.[ABANDONED. NO CLIFFHANGERS, BUT IT JUST KIND OF ENDS.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's, like, 01:00 right now, so please tell me if there's some huge error in this that I'm not seeing.

Finally alone in his quarters, Pike was tempted to dial up the viewscreen and call Leland. He knew he shouldn't, knew that there were probably hundreds of people he was better off calling than his morally ambiguous ex-boyfriend-cum-liaison, knew that there was too much that was still unsaid between them since their, well, he wouldn’t call it a break-up, exactly. Break-up implied a fight, a fallout, some problem in their relationship that caused them to separate. Not one party disappearing in the night with no notice and half an excuse. No, they hadn’t broken up. They had just… stopped.

 

He walked away from the controls of the screen, and laid down on top of the blankets on his bed, uniform still in place. Working with Leland would be uncomfortable, there was no way around it, especially in such close quarters, but he could at least take solace in the fact that Cornwell seemed unaware of the truth of their past together. Hopefully Leland would also see fit to keep it that way. Pike could find no obvious reason for Leland to tell her, but Section 31 often operated in ways that didn’t betray an obvious reason, so the thought was less reassuring than he would have liked. 

 

It was odd to think of Leland as truly being a member of Section 31. Pike was aware that Leland had accepted recruitment to Section 31, had been aware for years, but confronting the concrete evidence and trying to reconcile the Leland he had once known with the black-clad stranger now residing just a few rooms away was proving to be different, and more difficult, than merely being aware of the situation.

 

Leland’s readiness to abandon crewmembers to the mycelial network was perhaps the most difficult to confront; it confirmed that underneath the familiar layer of good-natured teasing lay someone all too willing to let people die without exhausting every option to ensure their survival. Their conversation later had only served to strengthen Pike’s suspicions that much had changed in the years since they had last spoken. Too much to deal with all in one night. He slipped his boots off, and shifted to pull the covers over himself. Room darkened, he closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Pike woke to an insistent knocking on his door. Confused, he sat up, activating a portion of the lights as he did so. The sound stopped briefly before resuming at an even louder volume. Pike could not fathom a reason that a crew member would be knocking on his door, especially as it was far too late an hour for a social visit. Had there been an emergency, an alert would have sounded, and the klaxon on his wall was currently sitting in motionless silence. He walked to the door and pressed the button to open it.

 

Leland. Of course. He should have known. He considered pressing the button again and watching Leland disappear with the pneumatic hiss of the closing door, before deciding it best not to procrastinate dealing with Leland. Even if it was- he glanced at the clock- 02:27. He stepped aside to allow Leland in.

 

“It’s the middle of the night, Leland.” Pike said as he walked to sit on the small couch.

 

“I know,” said Leland, setting himself next to Pike, “but I wanted to apologize.”

 

“You already apologized, Leland.” In front of a witness, in fact. “Maybe you should get some sleep.” Leland didn’t  _ look  _ tired enough to be forgetting things that had happened only hours before, but Pike had seen strange occurrences in his years as a captain. One minute a crew member could seem perfectly fine, taking every effort to hide their condition, and the next they were practically asleep on their console.

 

“Not for today. For before. For-” Leland cut off, staring down at his clasped hands. He shifted them uneasily. “I’m sorry, Christopher.” His voice was quiet, barely audible even in the quiet of the dim room, but Pike could still hear how ragged it had become.

 

Pike rested his hand on Leland’s knee, waiting for him to continue speaking.

 

Leland looked up, still not quite meeting Pike’s eyes. “I’m sorry for leaving, for the way I left... for everything. I love you, Chris. I should never have done things the way I did.”

 

“No, you really shouldn’t have, and I’m still extremely mad at you, but…” It was too early in the morning for the discussion that they needed to have, and Pike was too tired to even think about having it now, anyway. Right now, he just wanted his friend back. He shifted to face Leland fully. “For now, just come here, Leland, please.” Pike leaned forward for an embrace, and was pleased to feel Leland plastered against him almost immediately.

 

Pike couldn’t begin to describe how good it felt to have Leland wrapped in his arms again. After so many years apart he’d given up hoping that they’d find their way back together, and, even with the multitude of issues that still needed to be addressed, he’d never been happier to be proven wrong. Leland must have felt similarly, if the way he tugged Pike even tighter to him was any indication.   
  


* * *

 

 

They stayed curled together on the small couch until Pike felt himself starting to fall asleep. He pulled back slightly, letting his hand trail down to wrap around Leland’s wrist. Leland met Pike’s eyes, looking confused at the sudden change.

 

“Bed,” said Pike, blinking heavily in an attempt to keep his eyes open.

 

“Ah, right, I’ll let you-” Pike pulled Leland back as the other man started to move towards the door, gesturing to the bed with his other hand.

 

“How about this time, you stay.”

 

“Chris…” Leland looked pained at the reminder, but followed Pike to the bed. As Leland removed his boots, Pike adjusted the covers, rearranging them to cover them both as Leland climbed in beside him. Pike grabbed for Leland’s hand under the cover, before shutting down the last of the lights.

 

“Goodnight, Leland.”

 

“Night, Chris.”


	2. INCOMPLETE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not complete, but I'm abandoning this story, so I'm posting what was written. No cliffhangers, but no resolutions, either.

 

Pike couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up with someone else in his bed, let alone curled around him like Leland was now. Pike was sure that they'd fallen asleep a respectable distance apart, with only their hand touching, but at some point they had both migrated to the center of the bed, and just about the only part of either of them  _ not  _ touching the other was the hand that Pike was using to delay the alarm before it had a chance to sound.

 

Carefully, Pike extracted himself from Leland’s hold, and slipped out of the bed. Leland stirred slightly, but did not wake. Pike moved quietly to his wardrobe, grabbing a clean uniform before heading into the shower.

  
  
  


When Pike walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed aside from his boots, Leland was still asleep. Pike retrieved his boots from the floor beside the bed and sat on the edge to lace them up. He considered turning the alarm back on and leaving Leland to sleep, but it just didn’t feel right. He leaned over to lay a hand on Leland’s arm, and said,

 

“It’s morning, Le.”

 

Leland woke slowly, shifting to look at the clock, and then up at Pike through half-open eyes.

 

“You always were an early riser,” Leland said, taking in Pike’s ready-for-duty appearance.

 

Pike smiled down at him. “So are most people who have early shifts, Le. Did you ever consider that maybe you’re the outlier?”

 

Leland laughed, and for a moment it felt like the last twenty years didn’t exist, like they were back at the academy again, two cadets without a care in the world. Pike savoured the feeling, enjoying the calm while he could. Leland shifted beside him, removing himself from the blankets to sit up next to Pike. They both sat quietly; there was still too much unsaid, too much that had to be addressed, for the morning to be truly perfect, but it was still closer than it had been in a long time, and both were hesitant to break the peaceful silence.

 

In the end, it was not either of them who broke it, but the sound of Leland’s badge activating. He looked down at it, but hesitated to accept the call.

 

“I should take this,” Leland said, and Pike nodded. With one last glance, Leland let himself out of the room, leaving Pike alone on the bed.

 

Some day, Pike was going to get Leland to sit down and explain just how that communicator worked.

 

On the bridge they acted as if nothing unusual had happened. Leland was an adequate liaison- Pike certainly preferred him to the alternatives- and Pike found it easy to work with the other man.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely sure where this is going just yet, but there will be more. This ship has someone invaded my life completely at this point.


End file.
